Governors must be neutral to the content of specialty license plates approved by the General Assembly and sign any bill that makes it through the proper approval process.
Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine signed legislation Monday that permits several new special license plates, including one that will bear the words: “Choose Life.”
The 2009 General Assembly overwhelmingly supported adding this customized license plate as one of the more than 200 specialty license plates offered by the Department of Motor Vehicles. Now 23 states will offer the “Choose Life” plate to its drivers who want to show their political views against abortion.
Virginians can purchase specialty plates indicating their support for certain colleges, clubs and organizations and membership in various military groups. Supporters of the “Choose Life” plate adhered to all the applicable rules – that the message isn’t inappropriate, that 350 motorists must pay the necessary fee and that the General Assembly approves the message conveyed on the plates.
Kaine correctly noted that courts in Virginia and elsewhere have reviewed license plate programs to ensure that government regulation of messages does not discriminate based on the viewpoint expressed by a particular group. He also mentioned a Virginia decision – to prohibit use of a club logo that included the Confederate Flag on an approved license plate for the Sons of Confederate Veterans – later was struck down as unlawful discrimination against the free speech rights of the organization.
He also noted that the decision of the South Carolina Legislature to approve a license plate with a “Choose Life” message, while refusing to approve a plate proposed by Planned Parenthood, was struck down as discrimination based on the content of the speech because it preferred one side of a political debate over another.
Kaine is right to approve the “Choose Life” plate in a message-neutral manner, as with any other specialty plate. Nearly half the states in the United States now offer this specialty license plate to motorists who want to pay extra for it. Just as governors have signed bills that approved specialty plates for colleges and clubs, to “Save the Bay,” encourage “Greyhound Adoption” or urge people to “Fight Terrorism,” Kaine is correct to sign the “Choose Life” specialty plate bill and honor the will of its supporters.
And he is also correct to note the South Carolina case. Virginia cannot legally pick and choose between political messages on these specialty plates. Planned Parenthood has not sought designation for a specialty plate, but if it, or a similar group, decided to seek a specialty plate, Virginia would be compelled to approve it to protect against charges of political discrimination.
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